The Left Party has been shaken by a criminal investigation into suspected election fraud in Borlänge.
The relatively unknown local politician Mohamed Abdukardir Ali received 648 personal votes and secured Dalarna's only parliamentary seat for the Left Party.
In consultation with the party, he has now taken a leave of absence and says he is shocked by the allegations of election fraud.
Now, party leader Nooshi Dadgostar is breaking her silence on the investigation, saying she views the reports concerning the election of Mohamed Abdukardir Ali seriously.
"These serious allegations need to be cleared up," she told Swedish newswire TT.
"The important thing is that the investigation is allowed to proceed undisturbed to get to the bottom of what actually happened, so that people can feel confident that the ballot they cast in the ballot box is valid," she continued.
The Left Party has agreed with Mohamed Abdukardir Ali that he will take a so-called "leave of absence" and not serve as a Member of Parliament during the start of the term.
The party aims to bring in a substitute for him when Parliament opens on Monday.
"That is the plan. Out of respect for the investigation, he will not serve during that period, so that we can see the outcome of the investigation," said Dadgostar. However, no application for leave of absence had been received by the Riksdag’s administrative office as of Thursday morning.
The Left Party leader will not say whether the party has urged the newly elected MP to relinquish his seat or whether they have offered him a job at the party headquarters.
"There are many rumours circulating right now, and I am unable to comment on any of them," she said.
According to reports in several media outlets, the investigation concerns pre-marked ballot papers in the parliamentary election, as well as allegations that individuals drove voters from socio-economically disadvantaged areas to polling stations and provided them with ballots.
There are also reportedly images showing a person handing out both money and ballot papers to voters, according to Swedish newspapers Aftonbladet and Dagens Nyheter. These details have not been officially confirmed.
Redacted documents from the Swedish Prosecution Authority, seen by Swedish public broadcaster SVT, indicate that three individuals are implicated in the investigation. However, no one has yet been formally notified of suspicion.
As more details emerge, Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson is attempting to rally support among the Red-Green parties—the Centre Party, the Left Party, and the Green Party—to form a government.
According to Nooshi Dadgostar, the investigation is not affecting the government formation negotiations.
"From this point on, we need to continue the work of forming a government as quickly as possible. I am in frequent contact with various party leaders," she said.
Dadgostar had remained silent about the ongoing investigation for three days but has now chosen to comment on the matter.